Velina Karadzhova joined First Sentier Investors in September 2021 to lead the First Sentier MUFG Sustainable Investment Institute and deliver its sustainable investment research programme. The research looks at how emerging sustainability and market trends and practices could affect the performance of investments and economies, and how these developments influence capital allocation by investors.

Velina was previously an ESG analyst and sector lead for utilities at MSCI. In this role, she developed methodology enhancements and new products in areas such as ESG ratings, screening, impact, regulatory reporting, and data. She was also responsible for sector and company research, and ESG ratings for the utilities sector.

Prior to that, Velina was a credit rating analyst for EMEA utilities at Moody’s. She was also formerly a senior associate in audit at PwC.

Velina gained a BA (Hons) with first class honours in International Finance and Trade at the University of Portsmouth and an MSc in Accounting and Finance at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She is a qualified accountant and has been registered with the ICAEW since 2013.